Sleep Patterns for Athletes During Peak Competition

An interesting study (1) of  805 male and 798 female athletes from the US Olympic and Paralympic team found that nearly 40% reported poor sleep. Sex differences were pretty significant: Women had earlier bed times, but had poorer global sleep quality scores, took longer to get to sleep and had more sleep disturbances than the male athletes. It's not an unusual finding that women have poorer sleep than men, research has consistency showed this. It is interesting that the sex differences hold true for an elite athlete population. So what can we do about it? There are lots of approaches which have been used to improve sleep, including sleep education and support with sleep 'hygiene', behaviour change methods (like having a set bed time or set wake up time), relaxation techniques, mind-body exercise like yoga, aromatherapy, bright light therapy and a change to school start times, which have all been reviewed in a 2021 meta analysis (2). This work found that later school start times, behavior change methods, and mind–body exercise provided the most evidence of effectively improving sleep. Other interventions, such as sleep education, relaxation techniques, physical exercise, aromatherapy, massage, psychotherapy, and environmental interventions, also showed promising but inconsistent or limited results. On a practical level, if we want to improve sleep for female athletes: 🛌 Check in on their sleep hygiene and behaviours before and around bed-time. Do they need support and education to improve that? 💤 Encourage mindfulness, breathwork or yoga as a useful adjunct to their physical training (and help athletes develop the skills to pursue these activities). 😴 Consider a fixed wake up time each morning. Work back to ensure bedtime allows for adequate sleep (>7hrs). 😮 Here's a contentious one - later training times in the morning. Well- controlled studies with large sample sizes show that an delay in start time by 60 min or more can have significant and beneficial effect on sleep duration (3). #femaleathlete #womeninsport #sleep #sleepbetter #health #wellbeing #sleepmatters 1) Anderson, T., Galan-Lopez, N., Taylor, L., Post, E. G., Finnoff, J. T., & Adams, W. M. (2024). Sleep Quality in Team USA Olympic and Paralympic Athletes. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance (published online ahead of print 2024). 2) Albakri U, Drotos E, Meertens R. Sleep Health Promotion Interventions and Their Effectiveness: An Umbrella Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May 21;18(11) 3) Marx R., Tanner E., Davison C., Ufholz L.A., Freeman J., Shankar R., Newton L., Brown R., Parpia A., Cozma I., et al. Later school start times for supporting the education, health, and well-being of high school students. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. 2017;7

Here is how elite athletes can boost performance, through sleep.... Before we jump in, lets acknowledge the evidence that acute and chronic sleep restriction results in reduced: 1. Speed 2. Accuracy 3. Reaction time 4. Decision-making 5. Recovery Here's How: Sleep x Physical performance - Sleep restriction (≤ 4 h/night): increases heart rate, ventilation, lactate production, and perceived exertion, leading to faster fatigue and lower power output. - Energy metabolism: Sleep deprivation impairs muscle glycogen re-synthesis, alters glucose use, and shifts autonomic balance toward sympathetic dominance, resembling overtraining physiology. Sleep x Injury Risk and Recovery - Concussion Risk: Moderate–severe insomnia or excessive daytime sleepiness triples concussion risk in NCAA athletes (RR ≈ 3.1). - General Injury Risk: Adolescent athletes sleeping < 8 h are 1.7× more likely to be injured. Cumulative sleep debt increases vulnerability. - Post-Concussion Sleep: 50% experience sleep disturbances; poor post-injury sleep predicts longer cognitive recovery. Here is what Athletes and Coaches can do in a systematic fashion to mitigate sleep disruption : 1. Screen athletes for insomnia, apnea, and circadian disruption. Ideally an annual home or lab sleep assessment/questionnaires. 2. Education on evidence-based sleep and "circadian" hygiene (CBTi, ACT etc). 3. Use and track with a combination of validated questionnaires and metrics (e.g., ASSQ, PSQI, HRV). 4. Integrate sleep into training-load and recovery programs. 5. Encourage sleep extension (≥ 8–9 h) during heavy training or competition blocks and strategic napping (20-30mins, assuming it does not impair night time sleep). Any thoughts on what teams have the best sleep program for their team? Shout out to the International Olympic Committee – IOC and NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Committee for using Sleep as a core determinant of performance and mental health. #Sleep #SleepScience #Longevity #HealthTech #BrainHealth Empower Sleep Leroy Sims, MD, MSc, CAQSM, FACEP =================================================== This week I’ll be researching and sharing the science of sleep and sports medicine. Next week we will look at the intersection of sleep and wearables. Follow me for a daily dose of sleep science that you can apply in your life or share with your family.

SLEEP ...the most underrated recovery method for athletes. Capturing the sleep physiology of athletic population at the Inspire Institute of Sport, here comes the first one for the year 2025! PUBLICATION ALERT! 📑 'Sleep quality, behaviour, disorders prevalence and chronotype in elite junior and senior athletes'. Journal: Biological Rhythm Research Published on: 23rd Jan 2025 Summary: In this study, we analyzed sleep patterns and chronotypes in 208 athletes (92 females, 110 males) from athletics, boxing, judo, and wrestling, competing at national and international levels. Using standardized questionnaires, we uncovered important insights into their sleep health. 🔍 Key Findings: 1. 59% of athletes reported poor sleep quality (mean PSQI global score: 6.5±2.9). 2. Sleep behavior was suboptimal (mean ASBQ: 43.1±6.7), with 7.1±0.9 hours of sleep per night. 3. Mild sleep difficulties were common (ASSQ-SDS: 5.3±2.3), with 26.8% recommended for further sleep disorder assessment. 4. Chronotype analysis revealed 53% intermediate types and 43% moderate morning-types. 🔸 Sport-Specific Insights: Athletics athletes fared better, with 64% reporting good sleep quality, compared to lower percentages in boxing, judo, and wrestling (29–40%, P=0.01). 🔸 Unexpected Observations: Factors like sex, age, sport, injury status, or chronotype did not significantly influence sleep quality. 💡 Why This Matters: Sleep plays a critical role in recovery, performance, and injury prevention. With 59% of athletes reporting poor sleep quality and 14.9% experiencing moderate-severe difficulties, this study highlights the need for targeted interventions to optimize sleep health in high-performance sports. A huge shoutout to my incredible team at IIS and the athletes who made this research possible! Together, we’re making strides toward better athlete health and performance. Dr. Samuel A. Pullinger, PhD, CSci Bhanu Bawari Chloe Gallagher Tulasiram B Maria Luciana Perez Armendariz Ben Edwards 📖 Want to dive deeper? Read the full article here: Let’s discuss: How do you prioritize sleep in athletic training and recovery programs? Drop your thoughts below! 👇 #sleep #physiology #athleteperformance #sportscience #research #recovery

Sleep Analysis - Whoop API 😴💤🛌💻📈 Sleep is the most important part of the recovery process and plays a key role in an athlete's performance and regeneration cycle. I’m sharing one more way to dive deeper into data using a WHOOP wristband to enhance sleep quality with one of my players. What is the goal? The player regularly took long daytime naps (2+ hours), significantly disrupting his nighttime sleep routine - typically falling asleep around 1-2am and waking at 7am due to daily obligations. We dug into one month of WHOOP data and discovered that the first 45 minutes of a nap often included the majority of deep sleep, while anything beyond that was mostly light sleep. This insight became the basis of our new plan. What we changed❓ ⬇️ Reduced nap duration to under 1 hour 🕦 Moved bedtime earlier, now consistently (table visual involves also MDs where the player can't sleep before 2am) between 11pm and 12am. We’ve just started implementing this new routine, and early data shows an ⬆️ in deep sleep duration (still variable, but trending up). I believe that once the body adapts, we’ll see even greater improvements in both deep and REM sleep, as well as total sleep efficiency. #sleepanalysis #whoop #whoop4 #sportsscience #recovery #soccer #monitoring #datanalysis

The sleep habits of elite soccer players. Interesting new study from Sanders et al. (2024) utilizing WHOOP technology. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: This study aimed to assess and compare sleep architecture in elite soccer players before and after home and away matches in the English Premier League. Sleep patterns were monitored across two seasons, focusing on matches starting before 17:00 h, and the study aimed to provide insights into the impact of match-related factors on sleep quality. 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀: Six male players (age 28 ± 5 years; body mass 85.1 ± 9.5 kg; height 1.86 ± 0.09 m) participated in the study. WHOOP straps were worn across 13 matches to monitor sleep the night before (MD−1), after (MD), and the night following the match (MD +1). Various sleep variables, including total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency (SE), sleep disturbances, wake time, light sleep, deep sleep, REM sleep, sleep and wake onsets, were recorded and compared across the three days. Additionally, external load measured through GPS was considered. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: - TST was significantly reduced after the match day (MD) compared to the day following the match (MD +1) (392.9 ± 76.4 vs. 459.1 ± 66.7 min, p = 0.003). - No significant differences were observed in other sleep variables between days (p > 0.05). - There was no significant difference in TST after home (386.9 ± 75.7 min) vs. away matches (401.0 ± 78.3 min) (p = 0.475). 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: The study's limitations include a small sample size and the focus on male players from the English Premier League, limiting generalizability to other populations and leagues. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲-𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀: - Sleep architecture, as measured by various sleep variables, was not significantly compromised after matches played before 17:00 h. - Despite reduced TST on the immediate night after the match, other sleep parameters remained relatively stable. - Coaches and practitioners should consider managing factors that may impact post-match sleep, such as scheduling matches in the late afternoon, to optimize sleep quality and recovery. ~~~ If you found this helpful, share the post to your network and follow me James Malone for daily content at 13:00 GMT.